Splitting machine



Feb. 7, 1933. SEELY 1,896,187

SPLITTING MACHINE Filed Aug. 2, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 7, 1933. T. H. SEELY SPLI'ITING MACHINE Filed Aug. 2, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 hvvmma Patented Feb. 7, 1933 UNITED STATES, PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS H. SEELY, or MELROSE, MASSACHUSETTS, AssIeNoR To UNITED snon MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW, JERSEY, A CORPORATION or NEW JERSEY srLI rrINe MACHiNE. I

Application filed August 2, 1930. Serial NO. 472,683.

This invention relates to machines for s litting or evening leather and its object is to provide an improved machine of this type.

Leather splitting machines commonly comprise a knife and a pair of separable rolls cooperating in feeding the blank to the knife. In one type of commercial machine the lower feed roll, which is located beneath the plane springs against a stop and is designe to'yield downwardly to irregularities in the thickness of the stock being split. The upper roll, which is referred to also as the gage roll, is

mounted above the plane of the knife in rigid but adjustable bearin s and its position above the cutting edge 0 the knife determines the thickness of the blank to be split by the machine. i

It is desirable in splitting machines of this type that the knife be located as close as possible to the bite of the rolls or, what amounts to the same thing, to the plane containing the axes of the rolls, so that a blank I may be properly controlled during the splitother reasons WlllCll are not entirely clear, splitting machines have a'tendency to nip or bevel the advancing end of blanks of the ting operation and not permittedto buckle as it passes .between the rolls and the knife edge. In setting the rolls with respect'to the edge of the knife, it is of the utmost importance to allowsuflicient clearance behind the cutting edge for the passage of'the material being split and this consideration limits the closer approach ofthe knife and feed rolls. Partly on'this account andfor thickness of soles or heel lifts. It has been found-that by displacing the lowerfeed roll transversely toward the rear or away from the cutting edge of the knife, so that the plane containing the axes of the two rolls is inclined downwardly and rearwardly with respect to the edge of the knife, this tendenc is substantially reduced or eliminated. X splitting machine so organized is disclosed in U. S. PatentNo. 1,694,441, granted December 11, 1928 on anapplication of Gouldbourn et al. In one aspect the present invention consists in theprovision in a splitting machine of a single member by manipulation,

heavy of which the operator may accurately and conveniently'locate one of the feed rolls in different positions of'transverse horizontal adjustment or, in other words, vary the angle of the plane containing theaxes of the feed rolls with, respect to the plane of the knife. Such adjustment increases the capacity of the machine'and adapts itfor satisfactorily splitting leather of-various thicknesses and density without. objec-tionably nipping. or

beveling the "edge thereof.

Where the feed roll to be adjusted is driven, the problem is introduced of maintaining an effective driving connectionto the adjustable roll and, in another aspect, my invention consists in an improved splitting machine havin a transversely adjustable .feed roll arrange to be drivenwithout interruption in all positions of its adjustment.

As herein shown, the feed roll is gear driven,

and an important feature of the invention consists in so relating the carrier members of V the feed roll to a driving member that both are moved when the roll is adjusted and thus the effective driving connection to the adjustable roll maintained without interruption.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred em? bodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a'view of the splitting mechanism I in side elevation with parts broken away;

Fig. 2 is a similar view in longitudinal section;

Fig. 3 is a plan view with parts broken away; and

Fig. 4 is adetail view in perspective of a portion of the mechanism.

The drawings illustrate a sufficient portion of a splitting machine of commercial type in which my invention is embodied to make plain its construction and manner of operation. The machine frame 10 is provided with vertical ways 12 in which are slidingly mounted a pair of bearing boxes 14 for the top or gage roll shaft 16. The top roll shaft 16 carries the roll 18 which normally stands just above the cutting edge of the knife 21, as

shown in Fig. 2, but may be adjusted vertically by the movement of the bearing boxes 14 in the vertical ways when it is desired to increase the thickness ofthe blank being split. Stops (not shown) limit the extent of upward movement of the bearing boxes and the roll is driven by a gear 19 secured to one end of the shaft 16.

The frame 10 is provided with a rearwardlY-BXllGllCllIlg bracket 20 having a plane upper surface upon which the splitting knife 21 is supported. The splitting knife is held in place by a clamping plate 22 having a pair of downwardly-extending clamping bolts 23 which may be drawn downwardly to secure theknife by nuts 24. The bracket 20 is provided with two rearwardly and upwardlyextending arms 25 in which are mounted adjusting screws 26 which are threaded into the rear edg of the splitting knife 21 and by which the splitting knife may be adjusted forwardly and rearwardly and also brought into proper alignment with the feed rolls.

The lower feed roll shaft 30 carrying the feed roll 31 is j ournaled in bearing members formed in the front ends of a pair of carrier levers 33. The carrier levers are suspended at their rear ends upon a horizontal shaft 34 which extends between a pair of arms 35 .extending rearwardly from the frame 10. A compression spring 36 is disposed beneath each bearing member 32 and acts always to hold the lower roll in its uppermost position while permitting it to yield downwardly when operating upon a thick blank. Each of the carrier levers 33 is provided with a forwardly-extending stop lug 37 which engages the lower end of a stop screw 38 threaded into a lug on the machine frame and serving positively to determine the uppermost position of the lower roll.

The mechanism thus far described corresponds substantially to the construction of a splitting machine of commercial type such,

for example, as that shown in U. S. Letters Patent No. 894,850, granted August 4, 1908 on an application of F. J. Nash, to which reference may be had for further details of construction. The parts of the machine relating more particularly to the mechanismof my invention will now be described.

The horizontal shaft '34 is journaled, as already explained, in bearings formed in the rearwardly-extending bracket arms 35 of the frame. Fast to this shaft adjacent to each end thereof is an eccentric disk 42 which is arranged to turn in a circular bearing formed in a block 40. Each block 40 has a rearwardly-extending stem entering ahub formed in the rear end of one of the carrier levers 33 and secured rigidly in place by a bolt 41. A clamping bolt 44, see Fig. 3, is threaded into one of the arms 35 in position to clamp the shaft 34 against rotation'andithe latter is provided with a hole 43 to receive a spanner 01' pin when it is desired to rotate the shaft after the clamping screw has been loosened. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the eccentric disks 42 are located substantially vertically with respect to the axis of the shaft 34. Accordingly, when the shaft 34 is rocked in an anticlockwise direction, the eccentrics carry the blocks 40 and the carrier levers 33 forwardly so that the axis of the lower feed roll 31 is advanced toward a position in which it is vertically aligned beneath the top roll 18. By loosening the clamping screw 44 and rock ing the shaft 34, the operator may conveniently effect a horizontal adjustment of the lower feed roll into a position best suited for the requirements of the work in hand.

It will be understood that the lower feed roll is driven and that in providing for the adjustment just explained it is necessary also to provide driving mechanism which will accommodate such adjustment. The drive shaft 50 of the machine is eccentrically journaled in sleeves 52 which are rotatably mounted in the bracket arms 35 of the frame intermediate between the bearings of the shaft 34 and the feed rolls. At one end it carries a pinion 56 and beyond this pinion is located a driving pulley, not shown. At its other end, the drive shaft 50 carries a pinion 54 arranged to mesh with a gear 55 fast on one end of the lower roll shaft 30 and this, as already explained, is bodily movable from front to rear in the adjustment of the lower roll. The drive shaft 50 also carries a hand wheel 51 at its end outside the pinion 54. The pinion 56, which is located at the other end of the drive shaft 50, is arranged to mesh with an idle pinion 57 rotatably mounted on a stub shaft 58 which is set in a bracket arm 59 extending upwardly from one of the bracket arms 35 of the frame. The idle pinion 57, as shown in Fig. 2, is arranged to mesh with the gear 19 of the top roll shaft 16. The axes of the gears 5'7 and 19 are located in a substantially horizontal plane so that the limited. adjusting movement required in the top roll shaft may take place Without disturbing the driving connection between the two gears.

'In order to prevent the gear 55 from being separated from its driving pinion 54 in the horizontal adjustment of the lower roll, each of the bearing sleeves 52 is provided with a toothed segment 62 and this is arranged to mesh with a corresponding toothed segment 60 fast upon the end of the shaft 34. The eccentricity of the bearing in the sleeves 52 is set oppositely with respect to the eccentricity of the eccentrics 42. The result is that when the shaft 34 is rocked the segments 60 and 62 rock the bearing sleeves 52, bodily moving the shaft 50 and the pinion 54 in the same direction as the carrier levers 33 are moved. The driving relationship of the pinion 54 and the gear 55 is, therefore, not

disturbed but is maintained in all adjusted positions of the lower feed roll. It will be observed that in this adjustment there is a slight vertical movement of the pinion 54 but since the axes of the pinion 54 and the gear 55 are normally located in substantially the same horizontal plane, the relative vertical movement is insuflicient to impair the driving connection. Similarly, it will be noted that the pinion 56 is moved horizontally with respect to the idle pinion 57 but here again the relation of the pinions is such that their relative movement requires no compensating.

The operation of the mechanism above describe-d will be apparent from the foregoing description but may be summarized as follows. It will be noted that in Figs. 1 and 2 the lower roll 31 is shown as displaced rear-, wardly with respect to the top roll 16 or, in other words, the planecontaining the axes of the two feed IOlls is inclined rearwardly toward the edge of the knife. This relationship, it may be assumed, has been established by the operator to meet the requirements of the particular work inhand. If now it becomes desirable to shift the lower roll forwardly and to bring the plane containing the axes of the two feed rolls into a more nearly perpendicular position, the operator will loosen the clamping screw 44, engaging the shaft 34 with a spanner and rock it in a counter-clockwise direction. The movement of the eccentrics 42 thereupon will advance the blocks 40 and the carrier levers 33 connected thereto. In this movement the springs 36 maintain the lower feed roll in the position determined by the stop screws 38 and the stop lugs 37 are free to slide forwardly beneath the adjusting screws. When the shaft 34 is thus rocked, the segments 60 and 62 act to rock the bearing sleeves 52 in a clockwise direction, thereby carrying the drive shaft 50 forwardly and maintaining the established driving relation between the pinion 54 and the gear 55. When the proper adjustment has been effected, the operator may clamp'the shaft 34 in adjustedposition by the clamping screw 44.

The machine herein illustrated has been referred to as being used to split soles and heel lifts for use in the manufacture of boots andshoes and, while this is one important field of use for my invention, it is in no sense limited thereto but is of general application to splitting machines of other types including those employinga band knife as well as those employing a stationary knife.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let-- ters Patent is:

1. A splitting machine, having in combination, a knife, cooperating rolls for feeding a blank to the knife, and a single member manipulation of which adjusts one of said rolls in a path parallel to the feed movement of the blank to vary the location of the bite of the rolls with respect to the edge of the knife.

2. A splitting machine having B. horizontally disposed knife, cooperating rolls for feeding a blank to the knife, and arockshaft for ad usting one roll horizontally with re spect to the other to vary the angle-of the plane containing the axes of the rolls.

3. A splitting machine having a knife, a gage roll located above the plane of the knife,

a feed roll mounted for yielding vertical movement below the plane of the knife, and a rockshaft rocking movement of which shifts said roll to different positions of horizontal adjustment below the plane of the knife.

,4. A splitting machine, having in combination, a knife,"a pair of cooperating feed rolls, a pair of carrier levers for one of said rolls, an adjustable fulcrum member-for each lever whereby the leversmay be bodily adjusted to vary the transverse position of the roll carried thereby, and means for yieldingly supporting the roll-carrying portion of said levers arranged to permitsuch adjusting movement of the levers.

5. A splitting machine, having in combination, a knife, cooperating rolls for feeding a blank to the knife, connections for driving one of said rolls, and a single member manipulation ,of which adjusts said driven roll transversely to vary the location of the bite of the rolls, with respect. to the edge of the knife without interfering with the driving connections to said roll.

6. A splitting machine, having in combination,-a knife, cooperating rolls for feeding a blank to the knife, a gear carried by one roll, a 'rockshaft for bodily adjusting said roll with its gear in a direction substantially parallel to the 'directionof feed,'and a driving pinion meshing with said gear and arranged to be moved simultaneously therewit- 7. A splitting machine comprising a knife, a pair of rolls located in front of the knife and cooperating to feed stock thereto, carrier levers for, one of said roll'ssuspended about an axis located behind the knife and bodily movable in a direction parallel to the direction of feedfor the purpose of adjusting said roll, and adriveshaft for said roll located between the knife and the axis of said levers and arranged to be moved simultane ously with said levers to naintain its driving connection with said roll.

8. A splitting machine comprising a knife, a pair of rolls cooperating to feed stock thereto, a carrier lever for one of said rolls, a shaft connected to said lever and rotatable to adjust it to displace the roll in the direction of feed, a driving member connected to said roll, and mechanism interposed between said shaftand driving member for adjusting the latter when the carrier lever is adjusted.

9. A splitting machine comprising a frame carrying a knife, a pair of rolls cooperating 5 to feed stock to the knife, a shaft journaled in the frame, an eccentric upon the shaft, and a carrier lever for one of said rolls suspended upon said eccentric and movable bodily when the shaft is rocked to adjust said carrier lever and its associated roll in the direction of feed.

'10. A splitting machine including a knife, rolls cooperating to feed stock to the knife, 7 a drive shaft, geared connections between one of said rolls and said shaft, and connected eccentrics for simultaneously moving said roll and shaft into different positions of adjustment toward or from the knife. 11. A splitting machine including a knife, rolls cooperating to feed stock to the knife, a gear on one roll, a driving shaft located in substantially the same horizontal plane as said roll and having a geared connection therewith, means for horizontally adjusting said roll, and eccentric connections for simultaneously adjusting said driving shaft without interrupting its geared connection to the roll.

12. A splitting machine including a knife, rolls cooperating to feed stock to the knife, and geared connections to both of said rolls including a bodily adjustable driving shaft, means for horizontally adjusting one of said rolls simultaneously with the driving shaft,

' and cooperating pairs of gears between said drive shaft and rolls respectively arranged to permit relative displacement of the gears without interrupting their effective connection.

13. A splitting machine including a knife, gear driven rolls cooperating to feed stock to the knife, a drive shaft having a geared connection to each roll, eccentric bearing sleeves for said shaft, a gear segment secured to each sleeve, and carrier levers for one of said rolls suspended on eccentrics having gear segments meshing with those of said bearing sleeves, whereby the said latter roll and the drive shaft may be simultaneously adjusted.

" 14. A splitting machine including a knife, gear driven rolls cooperating to feed work to the knife, a driving shaft having a geared connection to each roll, and a single member manipulation of which adjusts the driving shaft and one of the rolls in the direction of feed movement of the work While maintaining the geared connection operative.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

' c0 THOMAS H. SEELY. 

